Editor’s Note: Where can a Keuka degree take you? This is the third in a series of snapshot profiles on members of Keuka’s Class of 2013.

Emily Ekstrom ’13 graduated cum laude with a B.S. in education and has accepted a post as a special education teacher serving grades 3-5 at Holiday Park School in Phoenix, Ariz.

During her four years at Keuka, the Ashville, N.Y. resident participated in the Equestrian and Education clubs, worked as a lifeguard and also as a facilitator for the Teamworks! Adventure course, served on Student Senate and was vice-president of Sigma Lambda Sigma, Keuka’s college-wide honor society.

“Although I have never done a Field Period at the school, my previous Field Periods have helped,” she said, referring to Keuka’s required 140-hour annual internship. “As much as I hated the paper work, I loved my Field Periods and all the experiences I gained from them.”

Ekstrom’s prior Field Period internships included a third-grade inclusion classroom in Bowling Green, Va., a 4-H summer camp in Long Island, N.Y., a month in two different special education classrooms at Chautauqua Central School, and a fourth-grade classroom in Falconer, N.Y.

Ekstrom added that another bonus was the support from close personal ties at Keuka, such as those she found in the division of education, via a mentor affiliated with the Teamworks! Adventure course and the College chaplain.

Where can a Keuka degree take you? This is the fourth in a series of snapshot profiles on members of Keuka’s Class of 2012.

Junelle King of Ithaca, N.Y.

Junelle King ’12 graduated cum laude with a degree in organizational communication and is currently amidst three months of full-time work with the Finger Lakes Museum project, a non-profit organization working to build a world-class cultural and natural history museum and aquarium on land at Keuka Lake State Park. During the spring semester of her senior year, King conducted a senior practicum at the museum, developing summer programs and promotions at community sites throughout the region. Her practicum went so well, she was asked to stay on to carry out the programs she designed, including community “coffee chats” and two community event nights at Keuka Lake State Park, one in July and one in August. During each park event, officials will bring in a State Parks wildlife biologist as well as a local music group to appeal to local residents, boaters and the campers visiting the park, to raise awareness and build support for the museum. Additional job duties involve monthly e-newsletters sent to supporters and managing the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the Museum.

King says Keuka’s Field Period internship program was a major factor in her decision to enroll, and now, after graduating, she believes it paid off for her.

“Having the work experience, building my resume and trial-and-error figuring out what you want to do and the experiential learning with the senior practicum is how I was able to get my job with the Museum. Not many other schools offered that.”

While temporary, her current job is a “great opportunity” to work on building a project from the ground floor up, she said.

“Even though I’m a communications assistant, I do get to have a lot of input because there are so few staff and it’s in the early stages. It’s great to see how an organization develops as it’s growing and to help other people to see it too. It’s very inspiring.”